My Blind Date With A Book 💘

So during my in-and-out trip to the city on Sunday I discovered the beauty that is Elizabeth’s Bookshop. I went there once YEARS ago, but I definitely didn’t appreciate it as much as I did on Sunday. If you live in Perth or Sydney then I can not recommend enough that you go visit. Unfortunately, I was only able to spend about 15 minutes in the store when I could have easily spent 15 hours. I did however make one of the best purchases in my life.

Outside the store was this beautiful stand.

I may have yelled. Out loud.

I’m always judging books by their covers – it’s the first thing that catches my eye. If I see a gorgeous cover then I will ALWAYS read the blurb. That said, I still find this “blind date with a book” idea so fascinating and it seems so much fun! Also, until I stumbled across this the only ones I’d seen shipped from the US and it was like a million dollars in shipping (okay maybe not, but………).

There was two stands and there were so many interesting choices. I had no idea what I was going to choose and then I saw “magical realism” as a keyword and that was all I needed to know.

Can we talk about how gorgeous the packaging is (LOOK AT THAT CUTE LITTLE LADYBUG) and how intriguing those other keywords sound when they’re combined?

Of course I was nervous because 1) what if I didn’t like it? and 2) what if I already owned it? However I decided that the pros heavily outweighed the cons and if I did end up already owning or disliking it then I could give it away because someone was bound to love it. My risk payed off though because I am SO SO HAPPY with the book I ended up with. It sounds FASCINATING and I can’t wait to read it!

An urban fairy tale from the acclaimed author of 99 Reasons Why.

Arthur Braxton runs away from school.

He hides out in an abandoned building, an old Edwardian bathhouse.

He discovers a naked woman swimming in the pool.

From this point on, nothing will ever be the same.

The Drowning of Arthur Braxton is an unflinching account of the pain and trauma of adolescence and of how first love can transform the most unhappy of lives into something miraculous. It is a dark and brooding modern fairy tale from one of our most gifted writers.

The best thing is that you can purchase these “Blind Date with a Book” books online! They’re Australian based, but ship internationally!

The prices range from $15-19AUD and shipping within Australia is $6.95-9.95AUD or free if you live in Perth and want to pick it up from their Fremantle Warehouse store. International shipping is $11.95AUD. Obviously, there might be cheaper choices if you live in the US but for Australians (and maybe other international countries?) then this is such a good deal and I’m definitely going to be making future purchases. Also, it’s not often that something this cool is based in my home state so I’m a little excited

Here’s just a handful of the choices that are available!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

THAT’S NOT THE COOLEST THING THOUGH! If nothing on the website is catching your eye then

You can chose gender, genre and age and the creators will match you with the appropriate book!

If you wanna find out more information then everything is listed on their website! They also have a Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

I honestly can’t recommend enough that if you have access to any kind of “Blind Date with a Book” service that you give it a go. This was so much fun. I felt like a little kid on my birthday or Christmas when I unwrapped it. Not to mention it is an amazing way to potentially discover new books and maybe even read outside your comfort zone. I had never heard of the book I picked, but it has so many of my favourite elements.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book I picked! Would you ever consider purchasing any kind of “Mystery Book”? Or have you already?

Hope you’re all having a fantastic day xx

P.S. This post is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Elizabeth’s Bookshop or Blind Date with a Book. I just thought it was SUPER RAD and wanted to make a post about it in case any Australians didn’t know it was a thing. You probably all did though because I am waaaay behind.

22 thoughts on “My Blind Date With A Book 💘”

This is so cool and I really, really love the idea of being able to create a custom one online. There’s an indie bookstore near where I go to school and they did this around Valentine’s Day, but I unfortunately couldn’t get over there while they were doing it. I’m hoping they’ll do it again soon so I can grab one! I’m always a little nervous that I’ll already have the book, but now that I have a blog I could just do a giveaway with it so who cares haha

This is awesome! I recently took the plunge when I was in a Barnes and Noble here in the states. Your post has inspired me because I really like what I received too and part of the reason I decided to participate is because I have had some good experiences with surprise packages in regards to knitting.

I kind of wish my independent bookstore would do this. I would probably buy them all just to keep them in business but I absolutely love the idea.

The book you picked up sounds intriguing. I hope you enjoy it! I went to a bookstore once that had it but when I looked in the back of the book to check the price, it had the name of the book so that killed my fun and I didn’t pick it up lol

Wow I have seen something like this on instagram but it sounds amazing to actually experience it. I haven’t had this experience before but I got my first Fairyloot box today, would that count? I only knew it was Classic Twist and had no clue what the book could be XD

Oh this sounds like such an amazing idea. I definitely need to see if there’s something like this in England (I think shipping from Australia to England would bankrupt me!).
But it’s a great way to discover new books, and probably a book I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. I’m like you I tend to judge my books based on covers more than anything else. 😀

I’ve seen this around town before in various bookshops! I think it’s a great idea in theory, but to be honest in practice books like this usually end up on my shelves unread, haha. I don’t do well with blind recommendations and usually tend to not be interested in the book once I know what it is. Hope you like yours, though! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it – the blurb sounds interesting. 😛

Sounds like such a fun concept! 🙂 🙂 No matter how hard it is to admit, I inevitably end up judging a book by its cover, though I know that it is possible that I would end up missing out on something amazing.

Sounds incredible!! Already added it to my TBR. We don’t have blind dates with books here 😦 and it’s impossible for me to order it online, but it’s such a cool idea. I hope you order others so I can live vicariously through you 😛

My local bookstore does this, but I’ve always been too nervous to purchase an unknown book. I’m particular about what I’m read and I’m worried my tastes won’t align with the anonymous bookstore employee’s!

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

social media

welcome

Hi, I'm Lauren! I'm a 20-something Australian who is a proud Hufflepuff with a caffeine addiction. If you're reading this you've somehow stumbled across my book blog. Here you'll find reviews, bookish features, music and design!

I mostly read and review books within the Young Adult genre, but occasionally will feature comics, graphics novels and adult fiction.
If you'd like to stay updated with my content then you can subscribe above via Email or Wordpress!